Mock Shuttle Countdown Over -- Another Test-fire Delay Possible

August 2, 1988|By John J. Glisch of The Sentinel Staff

CAPE CANAVERAL — NASA completed a mock countdown Monday on the space shuttle Discovery but faced another possible delay in the test-firing of the vehicle's main engines because of a ground line fuel leak.

Engineers finished the practice countdown despite the leak, which prevented them from filling Discovery's external fuel tank with more than 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen propellant, officials said.

The leak is in the same hydrogen ground line that caused problems last week for NASA. Launch pad workers plan to inspect the area today after the tank's fuel is drained.

Failure to fix the line quickly could result in another delay of Thursday's scheduled firing of Discovery's three main engines in a critical overall test of the shuttle's systems.